


your love is bright as ever

by aknightley



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Domestic, Domestic Fluff, M/M, olympic au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-21
Updated: 2016-12-21
Packaged: 2018-09-10 18:42:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,336
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8928676
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aknightley/pseuds/aknightley
Summary: A brief interlude in the future of the Olympic AU, Christmas with Keith and Lance and their cats. "This always looks easier in those made for television movies," Keith tells Blue, who rolls over and out of his lap, chasing her own bits of tinsel.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ilgaksu](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ilgaksu/gifts).



> WELL OK. Sarah gets to write the serious stuff for this AU, I'll stick to writing the terrible sappy stuff if that's okay. It's her birthday and of course I had to write something from our Olympic AU, but I'm in a gross Christmas mood, and she loves their cats, and this happened. I'm really sorry, it's really Soft™. Sarah, thank you for being such a great person and such a positive, happy influence in my life. You've really inspired me and made me feel better about writing, and I'm really glad you love this AU as much as I do. 
> 
> For reference, Blue looks like [this](http://pawesomecats.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Ragdoll-cat.jpg), and Red looks like [this](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/50/76/53/507653cf03366969d5f6890c216921d7.jpg). 
> 
> Title comes from Beyonce's song, "XO."
> 
> Featuring art from the FANTASTIC Sven, can be found [here](http://legendarydesvender.tumblr.com/post/154749181824/birthday-gift-for-ilgaksu-my-fav-adorable-murder) at her tumblr. Please like and reblog and check out her other stuff too!!

 

"Stop," Keith says firmly, tugging on the piece of tinsel. The frankly humongous cat on the other end of it refuses to let go, hissing around her mouthful at him, tail flicking wildly through the air. Normally Keith would indulge these antics, especially since Lance is in town, which always leaves him in a better mood, but right now he's about an hour into decorating and has very little to show for it, and it's largely due to the cats. "Red," he says, narrowing his eyes at her, "Let go."

In his lap, hindering him from properly admonishing Red, Blue sprawls out on her back and purrs up at him, sparkling all over from bits of tinsel that have shaken loose. She looks up at him with her enormous blue eyes, and Keith gets distracted for a moment, which is long enough for Red to jerk the tinsel out of his hands and flee into the other room with it.

"Fuck," he mutters, and Blue blinks up at him and purrs louder. "You shouldn't help her, you know," Keith tells her, giving into the urge to pet her under her chin. "She's gonna abandon you for Lance as soon as he gets here." Blue swishes her tail at him, and Keith sighs and looks around the apartment.

He's at least got his artificial tree set up, but the lights are still tucked away in their packaging because he's been hesitant to try to string them up without help. There are bits of tinsel scattered around under the tree, with a few scraggly bits haphazardly bunched up around the base where he'd attempted to start hanging it before Red had grabbed a mouthful and started trying to squirrel the pieces away. The entire mess of a tree aside, he's got a few bits of holly hung up around the room, and there's a pretty reindeer that Lance's mother had given them last year set up on the coffee table, along with a trio of snowmen that Hunk had sent him last year. Other than that, he has very little to show for his decorating efforts.

"This always looks easier in those made for television movies," Keith tells Blue, who rolls over and out of his lap, chasing her own bits of tinsel. Keith sighs again and looks up at the tree. He's debating just taking the whole thing down when he hears the scrape of keys in the lock, and looks over in time to see Lance coming through the door.

He's so _tall_ , Keith thinks, tilting his head to look up. It's always true, especially for Keith, but it strikes him almost every time he sees him again after a long break, that Lance is half a foot taller than him when he's standing up and pretty much towers over him when he's sitting on the floor like he is now. Securely wrapped up in a coat and beanie, Lance sets his bags on the ground with a relieved sigh, looks down at Keith and his accompanying mess, and breaks into a bright grin.

"No welcome home kiss for your boyfriend?" he asks, faking a pout. Keith tamps down on the swooping thrill that seeing Lance always evokes in his stomach in favor of rolling his eyes. He gestures to the tinsel strewn across the floor, including the bits wrapped around Blue as she plays with it.

"Your cat is a mess," Keith says, and almost on cue Red comes barreling out of the kitchen to hurl herself at Lance's legs, meowing plaintively up at him. "She missed you," Keith adds dryly.

"I like how she's _my_ cat when she's misbehaving. Aww, hello Grumpy," Lance coos at her, picking her up and cuddling her close. Her ears flick back and forth wildly, but Red patiently endures Lance kissing her nose, and hovers around his feet when he sets her back down. Blue, giving up on her tinsel, comes over to inspect him, cheerfully butting her head against his legs. He picks her up as well and gives her a kiss on the forehead before putting her down and walking towards Keith.

"You should still give me a kiss hello," he complains, before kneeling next to Keith and cupping his face, kissing him softly on the nose and then forehead as well. Keith scrunches his nose but leans in firmly when Lance finally kisses his mouth, automatically reaching up to brace his hands on Lance's shoulders. "Like that," Lance says as he pulls away, beaming.

"Why would I bother when you always just kiss me anyways?" Keith asks, grinning back. Lance rolls his eyes at him and takes a look around the room, lingering on the mess of the tree and the paltry decorations Keith has already put up. "I know," Keith says, sighing. "It's taken longer than I planned with the two of them getting in the way."

"Not a problem," Lance says, yanking the tinsel out of Red's mouth before she can start pulling it away again. "Now it's two against two, and I like our odds."

"Considering our opposable thumbs I would hope so," Keith says, getting to his feet while Lance gathers the mess of tinsel from off the ground and puts it on the couch, out of the cats' grasp. "This is -- the first time I'm doing this," Keith admits. "Your mom has always had the tree up by the time we get there so I don't--"

"It's a tree, Keith, not a rocket ship. You'll do fine," Lance teases, shedding his coat and scarf. When Keith looks at him, he's pulling the lights out of their box, examining them. "Nice, multicolored ones. My mom always goes for the more traditional white ones, but these suit us better." The sound of Lance saying _us_ still sends a flush of heat through Keith, even though they've been together for six years. It hits him at the oddest times, how strange and wonderful his life is -- how lucky he was that the first person he ever dated was Lance, that he'd met the person he loves more than anyone at seventeen and never needed to look anywhere else. Lance has always spoken fondly of his exes, and they still meet with Nyma for lunch every now and then, but something in Keith is fiercely glad that he's only ever wanted Lance.

"Stand on the other side and we'll string it together," Lance says, and with them working in tandem, the tree eventually starts to look more like an actual Christmas tree. Blue attempts to climb the base of tree into the branches, but Keith nudges her away with his foot and she gets distracted by a little piece of tinsel again, allowing them to finish with the lights in minutes, which is almost insulting given how long Keith has already been at this. They take a step back from the tree and look at it together with critical eyes. It looks -- good, Keith thinks, although maybe a little uneven.

"This tinsel may be a lost cause," Lance muses, looking down at the pieces the cats haven't managed to completely rip apart. The silvery strands are looking very bedraggled, chewed up and pulled around, but most of them are still intact.

"Let's just put it up anyway," Keith says. "I'll go get the bits from the other room -- should I order dinner too?"

"Please," Lance says, grabbing Red as she tries to sneak past him with more tinsel in her mouth. He swings her up onto his hip like a giant fluffy baby, and coos at her while she grumbles and tries to grab the tinsel again as he pulls it away. Keith rolls his eyes at them and goes to order a pizza and find what he can of the pieces Red stole earlier. He's not sure how, but she's managed to get them partly under the fridge and behind the trash can, and there are somehow sparkly bits in the sink as well. He gives Blue a look when she follows him into the room, meowing loudly up at him.

"She's ridiculous," he tells her, and she meows again, somehow even louder, and circles around her food bowl impatiently. "It's not dinner yet," he says firmly. She yowls again, blinking her impossibly huge eyes up at him, sounding sadder the longer he ignores her. He manages to hold out until after he's placed the phone call to the pizza place and then pours her a small cup of food, annoyed at himself but stroking a hand down her back as she descends on the food ravenously nonetheless.

"Are you feeding her?" Lance calls from the other room. Red sneaks around the corner, aiming for her bowl as well, so Keith feeds her too, ignoring Lance laughing from the other room. "You're spoiling them," Lance says. "I can't believe _you're_ the one giving in so easily."

Keith resolves not to tell Lance about all of the cat toys he bought earlier in the week.

"Whatever," Keith says, carrying the bits of tinsel into the living room. Lance has managed to sort out his pieces and start a respectable spiral from the base of the tree up, although bits are sticking out awkwardly where small teeth have managed to tear them. "Let's finish this already."

"I can really feel that Christmas spirit," Lance says, swiftly dodging the piece of tinsel Keith throws at him. "Sweetheart, you're slowing us down."

Keith scowls at him but starts stringing his bits of tinsel along the tree, somehow not as prettily as Lance despite copying his movements. Keith can only reach so far up the tree, struggling to reach the higher branches, and Lance watches him on his tiptoes for a moment with a smirk on his face. "Fuck off," Keith says, rolling his eyes. There's enough heat in his voice that Lance doesn't say anything, just raises an eyebrow and steps closer, finishing off the last swirl of tinsel and tucking it into the branches for him. He crowds behind Keith, a warmth all along his back, and Keith finds himself leaning back into his chest despite himself.

It had only been a month this time -- a month of separation, a month of phone calls and text messages, of late night skype conversations that bled into early mornings. A month of sending Lance pictures of the sunrise and the cats curled up in the window, a month of listening to him talk about his day from over two thousand miles away, trying to pretend the sound wasn't coming from over a wire.

It's been six years of the back and forth and Keith still craves him when he's gone like he's missing a piece of himself, like he's starting his day one step behind just because Lance isn't there. He wakes up to an empty bed and a good morning message from Lance, and sometimes it doesn't feel like it's enough. Sometimes he wishes they had normal lives where they weren't living in separate cities, swamped with practices and competitions and meetings and PR breathing down their necks. Sometimes he wishes he'd  met Lance the way any other couple might meet -- in a bar, or at the grocery store, or through friends. So much of their lives has been everyone else's along the way, and Keith is self-aware enough to know he covets every glance Lance gives, every kiss and touch and smile. He's never really learned to share.

But, Keith reminds himself, Lance is here now. He came back, the way he always comes back. They've got an entire week just to themselves, no schedules or agents or coaches, no charity events or sponsor advertisements or photo shoots. Just Lance and Keith and their cats. He looks at their terrible and charming tree and finds himself smiling softly.

"I missed you," Lance says, wrapping his arms around Keith's waist from behind, as if he's guessed at everything Keith has been thinking about. Or maybe he feels the same way, the same yearning that never quite leaves Keith, even when Lance is pressed close enough that he can feel his heartbeat.

Keith closes his eyes and lets the colorful lights on the tree shine behind his eyelids for a moment before he replies, "Me too." Lance's arms tighten a little around him briefly, and Keith opens his eyes again and tilts his head back, looking sideways at Lance. Lance's face is almost as familiar as his own by now, so Keith understands the lines at the corners of his eyes, the flash of his teeth when he grins crookedly, the fluttering of his lashes that means he's going to kiss Keith.

Keith tips his head up expectantly and is rewarded with the brush of Lance's lips against his own, soft and lingering. Keith is contemplating turning around and kissing Lance properly when a rustling at the base of the tree distracts him, and they pull apart to see Blue's tail swishing from the branches.

"Baby, get out of there," Keith says, crouching down to try and pull her out. She purrs at him from the branches of the fake tree, the glowing lights reflected in her eyes, and Lance laughs and crouches next to him.

"Leave her be," Lance says. "She's not hurting it, and I want to take a picture for instagram. They'll love her." He pulls out his phone and snaps a picture of her,  starting to thumb through filters. There's a snuffling noise behind him that tells Keith that Red has snuck out of the kitchen, and she's probably thinking of ways to tear the tree apart, and there's a huge mess of boxes and silvery bits of tinsel everywhere, and he's got several presents he should have already wrapped before Lance got here still hiding in the spare bedroom closet, but for the first time in a month, Keith feels completely content.

 

* * *

 

"Are you sure we have to?" Lance says, pouting slightly, and Keith rolls his eyes and sets up the laptop so that the camera catches both of them. "I thought maybe we'd get through one year without them embarrassing me over something," he continues, and Keith would believe the resignation in his voice if Lance weren't also leaned forward attentively, surreptitiously checking the time in the corner of the screen.

"It's a tradition at this point," Keith says, messing with the angle so the lighting isn't terrible. In the window, the cats lounge in their cat tree, curled together on one of the lower tiers. Blue is nearly engulfed entirely by Red's fluff, only showing bits of white and black here and there. "It's not Christmas if you haven't covered your face with your hands at least once." Lance gives him a dark look and opens his mouth to say something, but a call from skype starts ringing, and he immediately connects with it. Keith snorts softly and Lance shoots him a look.

"Mama," he says, breaking into a breathtaking smile. Onscreen, Lance's family cheers a hello, all crowded around the computer. It's a familiar scene in a familiar living room. His parents sit front and center, with his four siblings all around the edges, and a couple of cousins peeking in through the gaps. There's a riot of bright colors, as they all seem to be wearing similarly hideous Christmas sweaters. There are probably similar ones in the mail headed their way, if Keith's experience with the McClains has taught him anything.

"Hey," Alex complains, "There's more people on screen than mom!"

"Hello, baby," Lance's mother says, beaming at them and ignoring her indignant son. "How have you been?"

"I saw you a couple of days ago, Mama," Lance says, smiling at her exasperatedly, and her own smile turns a little teasing, deepening the lines around her eyes and mouth. Keith suddenly misses her fiercely, misses all of them; he and Lance both agreed to stay in San Francisco this year because the cats weren't ready for long trips, but it feels strange not to be in Havana with Lance's family for the holidays, which is almost strange in itself. Keith had never had holiday plans before Lance -- Keith has celebrated without cheer in foster homes growing up, and once he was on his own he'd accepted frosted cookies and seasons greetings from his neighbors, but Christmas had only ever felt like a brief lull in the year, a downswing on his momentum forward.

Now Christmas is being engulfed in a warm hug from Lance's mother, and sipping hot chocolate with Lance's father in the kitchen while the siblings argue over how to string the lights, and listening to stories told by various McClains about childhood antics. The first year or so it had been a foreign but pleasant experience to Keith, but now it just feels -- normal, and he misses them in a way similar to missing Lance when he's gone. It sits deep in his chest, a faint ache under his ribcage that grows more pronounced the longer he looks at them.

Lance's mother is still smiling brightly. "I was talking to Keith, Lance," she says, and his siblings burst into laughter. Keith hides a grin behind a hand and then waves a little at her, feeling quietly pleased. Lance squawks a little, but he's flushed with happiness, and Keith settles against his side and lets everyone say their own hellos and echoes them back.

Tahlia and Ben are older and somewhat more reserved, but Alex and Izzy shove their way to the front, complaining about losing their bedroom despite Lance and Keith not being there because one of their cousins brought their boyfriend and a friend for Christmas, and Aunt Val shouts from offscreen something about being grateful they had beds to sleep in. Lance's mother pulls her children back and gives them quelling looks, and they settle down with matching disgruntled expressions thrown towards the camera.

"We just wanted to check in and make sure you guys were doing okay, since it might be later in the day on Christmas before we can call," Lance's father says, eyes warm behind his glasses.

"We're fine," Lance says. "Although when I got here yesterday, Keith was letting the cats walk all over him. Our Christmas tree will never recover." _Our, our, our_ , Keith thinks, mouth curving, until he registers what Lance has said.

"Hey," he objects, "You're the one who let them into the bedroom last night even though we agreed we wouldn't let them sleep with us."

"They were crying!" Lance says defensively. "Like, full on wailing! I was worried they would wake the neighbors!"

Alex rolls his eyes. "Yeah, _that's_ what you were worried would wake them up."

" _Alex_ ," Ben says, making a face, while Tahlia and Izzy snicker and Lance's mother serenely ignores them. Lance's face is slowly turning pink but he holds his tongue somehow, probably because retaliating against Alex only leads to escalation, and he's not able to physically wrestle him to the ground from two thousand miles away.

Keith, however, has no such reservations. "They're used to it by now," he says innocently. There's a beat of shocked silence, and then Lance's family bursts into laughter and Lance buries his face in his hands as Keith adds, "The cats' meowing, I mean."

"Keith," Izzy says, once everyone has stopped giggling, "Anna wanted me to ask if she could send a video of herself practicing her tumbling to get your opinion. She's really improved since the last time you were here."

"Yeah, sure," Keith says. "She's enrolled in that beginners class now, right?"

"Yep!" Izzy says, grinning. "It's a little more refined than watching your old training videos and practicing in the park."

"I thought she was adorable," Lance's mother says. "She even cut her gloves up to make hers look like yours. Her mother was so annoyed but I thought it was sweet. She really looks up to you, Keith." Keith flushes pink, unsure of what to say -- he's never handled being told that people regard him as a role model that well, even though this is vastly different from being looked up to for coming out to the world while he was also a world renowned gymnast.

"Keith and kids are definitely adorable," Lance agrees, which is annoying because he knows Lance is at once antagonizing him and also being completely genuine, which always flusters Keith a little. He nudges Lance's foot with his own sharply, but Lance's smile just widens and he doesn't acknowledge Keith at all. "Remember him giving candy nonstop to all the little kids that first summer vacation?"

"The kids wouldn't stop talking about it," Tahlia says, rolling her eyes. "They were insufferable for hours."

"I just -- kids like candy," Keith says, somewhat defensively. He'd been vaguely desperate to make sure at least some of Lance's family members liked him, and kids were always the safest bet. He had experience with kids. Kids didn't judge you for being desperately in love with their son or brother. Kids just liked jumping off of stuff and eating things they shouldn't.

"I guess you're both pushovers, huh?" Alex says, smirking, and one of the younger cousins mostly hidden by elbows jumps to their defense, and Lance's father tries to talk to Lance about his schedule for the next year over the noise while Lance's mother trades a fond but exasperated smile with Keith; the ache in his chest lessens just a little bit.

 

* * *

 

Keith walks into the living room midafternoon on Christmas Eve to find Lance stretched out on the couch, with Red planted firmly on his chest. Both of their eyes are closed, but Red's ears flick a little when he walks closer, and he crouches on the floor next to them as quietly as he can. Blue jumps down from the cat tree where she'd been lazing and curls around his leg, purring softly. He scoops her up into his arms and watches Lance sleep for a minute, breathing in and out with him as closely as he can.

Lance sleeps sprawled, arms tucked behind his head, elbows out, legs open -- he never looks vulnerable in sleep even though Keith feels that way just looking at him. He looks peaceful, lashes fluttering a little as he dreams, mouth slightly open. Keith reaches out and touches his chin gently, and then pushes it closed. Lance's eyes slowly slide open and he yawns, arms lifting above him. Red grumbles but keeps her footing when he moves, and settles back down when Lance falls back against the couch again.

"We have to wrap up the presents for Bianca and Janet and get ready to go to dinner with them," Keith says, making a face when Lance just wraps his arms around Red and cuddles her closer. "Lance."

"I'm sleepy," Lance complains. "They live next door, they won't care if we're a few minutes late. Lay down with us."

"All we've done the last few days is bake stuff, wrap presents, and sleep," Keith says dryly. Blue wriggles a little in his arms, so he sets her down on Lance's chest as well, and she chirps at Red and then jumps onto the back of the couch, flicking her tail back and forth.

"That's not true at all," Lance says lowly, raising his eyebrows suggestively at Keith. Keith snorts and covers Lance's face with a hand, pressing slightly, which makes Lance break into laughter. When he pulls away, Lance is smirking at him, mouth crooked sideways. The lights from the Christmas tree are covering the room -- the sun is still setting outside, bathing the entire room in soft reds and pinks, but there are flashes of green and blue and yellow scattered across Lance's face, mirroring his freckles. Keith could kiss every single one of them with his eyes closed.

"C'mon babe," Lance says, cajoling. "Just for thirty minutes."

"We've got two hours before we have to meet them," Keith says firmly, but Lance scoots to the side of the couch, raising his eyebrows invitingly. Keith holds out for a moment but then crawls up next to him, tucking his body along Lance's, making sure to keep from moving Red too much. She meows plaintively anyways, standing up and then resettling on Lance's chest, digging her claws in and out of the fabric of his shirt.

"Thirty minutes," Keith says. "I don't want to be late for them."

"They love us," Lance says, but he obligingly reaches over on the table to grab his phone and programs an alarm for thirty minutes from now. Blue jumps down from the top of the couch and wedges her way behind Lance to lay down on the arm next to their heads, purring loudly at them when Keith reaches up to brush his fingers over her head. Lance makes an amused sound, so Keith flicks him gently on the forehead before tucking his hand up against Lance's shirt. He's not usually level with Lance's face like this, far more used to looking up at him when they're standing, or down at him when he's sitting in his lap. His eyes are half-lidded, hazy with sleep and the color of the midmorning sky.

"Hey," Lance says quietly.

"Hey," Keith responds, just as soft. They breathe in tandem for a moment, comfortably silent.

"After Christmas I have Arena Pro so I'm back at practice," Lance says finally. Keith feels fingers start to thread their way through his hair, and he closes his eyes, trying to ignore the dread in the pit of his stomach that always comes from remembering they only have so long together before Lance leaves again. After prolonged time together, remembering they have conflicting schedules for a majority of the year is harder to accept.

"I've got the Cup," he murmurs back. "Coach wants my floor routine polished up by mid January. I'll probably get a break right after though? So that's only -- two months this time."

"Two months," Lance repeats, sliding his fingertips to the ends of Keith's hair and then reburying them. He presses slightly, and Keith lets him tilt their foreheads together. "Not so bad."

"Plus we have Budapest this year," Keith says, smiling a little. It will be their third Olympics together, but only their second while dating. Tokyo had been an experience -- Keith had thought he was used to the media focusing on their relationship by that point, but under the lens of the Olympics, they'd been subjected to nonstop interviews and questions about dating a fellow gold medalist, about whether or not Lance would consider using his dual citizenship to join the American team instead of Cuba, about their dating habits and sleeping habits and how hard it must be to be in a long term relationship with someone in another country. Lance had handled it better than Keith, who had to be forcibly corralled by various PR team members into answering questions. His publicists are probably already drafting bribes and methods to force him to keep from walking away from interviews. He's not quite looking forward to it, but he is looking forward to everyone being in the Village again. It's been too long since he's seen Pidge and Allura and Hunk in person, especially all at once.

"Should we bet on who will take home more medals?" Lance asks, rubbing his nose across Keith's back and forth. Keith crosses his eyes at him and pushes back against him so their noses squish together roughly.

"Do you really wanna play that game?" he replies archly. Lance laughs and slips a leg between his calves, pulling Keith somehow closer. Red shifts again, making a soft noise before closing her eyes. They both hold still until the cat settles down, breathing against each other's faces. It's almost uncomfortably warm, but Keith doesn't really want to pull away. There's something about the space between them, like they're living in their own little bubble on the couch in Keith's apartment in San Francisco, like they're out of time and space with the rest of the world. Just for thirty minutes, it's just them and their cats and the slow and steady way they're breathing together.

"How about we bet how many times someone will try to imply that we're breaking up at some point in the future?" Lance suggests after a moment, and Keith laughs.

"We'd probably have to get married for that to stop," he murmurs. His eyes close without his permission and Lance lets out a soft, amused noise. "You set an alarm?" Keith asks. He hears Blue start to purr again, a low thrum of contentment just above his head. Lance starts running his fingers through Keith's hair again, even more softly.

"Yes, sweetheart," Lance says, lips brushing his cheek, the last thing Keith remembers before he drifts off.

 

* * *

 

Keith wakes up the next morning only vaguely aware that it's Christmas day -- the bed is empty, which isn't out of the norm, and the sun is only just starting to rise over the horizon, if the hazy light flooding the room is any indication. He buries his face in his pillow for a moment, sighing, and then lifts his head up to squint at the other side of the bed. They have no plans other than opening presents and skyping with Lance's family later today, so he doesn't know where his boyfriend is, but he _should_ be in bed with Keith.

Keith curls into the bed more securely, vaguely annoyed he's alone when he could be next to Lance, but unwilling to lose his warm covers. A few minutes pass, and he hears a soft tapping noise and feels a familiar dip in the covers as one of the cats jumps onto the foot of bed. When Keith raises his head to look, he can see it's Blue, tiptoeing her way up towards his head.

He smiles softly at her and makes a soft clicking noise with his tongue, encouraging her to come closer. She chirps at him and butts her head against his face insistently until he reaches up and pets her, fingers tucking under her chin. He's scratching along her neck when his hand touches something cool against her collar. He pauses and lifts her head up, tugging her collar away from her throat enough to find a silver ring threaded through it.

His mind is still foggy enough from just waking up that it takes him a moment to comprehend what he's seeing, but the moment he does his breath catches. There can only be one reason that there's a ring on Blue's collar, can only be one person who put it there.

His heart lodges itself in his throat, hands shaking minutely as he unfastens her collar to pull the ring off. Blue pushes her head against his hands impatiently, but he's caught up in examining the ring, turning it over carefully -- it's plain silver, with a small band of darker metal running around the middle. It looks like it would fit his finger perfectly. He swallows and his heart trips wildly around his chest, aching at how much he suddenly _wants._

There's a noise in the doorway and he looks up to see Lance standing there in loose pajamas with Red in his arms. He would look composed if it weren't for the clenching of his hands in her fur, the way his mouth is a little too tight around the edges. He's nervous, Keith realizes. Lance, who stands unshakable at starting lines, who grins his way through every awkward question the media can throw at them, who holds Keith's hand when he wants to rip himself to pieces just to stop feeling things.

All of a sudden, everything in him that's been clamoring since he caught sight of the ring settles.

Keith has known Lance since he was seventeen; now he's twenty five and he's only ever been in love with Lance in his entire life. Sometimes it catches him off guard, how _big_ that feels, only loving one person and knowing you won't ever love anyone else. He thinks that he should be more hesitant about it -- he knows it's something Lance has worried about, that Keith's too inexperienced to settle down forever with his first boyfriend, but Keith has known from the moment he met Lance that there was something different about him.

Lance, who approaches every competition with fire in his eyes and a crooked grin, who kisses his mother on the cheek whenever he sees her, who sends Keith love songs when they're apart just to keep him company -- Lance was always going to be the person Keith married.

Keith sits up properly in bed and clears his throat with a sharp noise that cuts through the silence. Lance still hasn't said anything, just continues to stand in the doorway clutching Red to his chest. Keith's mouth lifts and he holds up the ring; Lance's eyes flash to it immediately. A muscle in his jaw jumps.

"I'm pretty sure you're supposed to put it on," Keith says, voice scratchy with sleep. Lance stares at him and then releases a long, drawn out breath. It sound a little like laughter and a lot like relief.

"I haven't asked yet," Lance says, moving step by step closer.

"Yes," Keith says, rolling his eyes.

"No, let me ask," Lance says, reaching the bed and dropping Red onto it. "Keith Kogane, will you--"

"Yes!" Keith interrupts impatiently, holding the ring out to him. The bed dips as Lance crawls up next to him, leaning against the pillows.

"Will you do me the honor of--" Lance continues steadily, humor warming his voice, even as he takes the ring from Keith and grabs hold of his left hand.

"Yes, yes, yes," Keith says, spreading his fingers wide, hooking his other hand in Lance's shirt to pull him closer.

"Of marrying me, will you marry me?" Lance finishes breathlessly, and Keith answers by jerking his head down so they can kiss. It's probably one of their worst kisses of all time, considering the terrible angle and Keith's morning breath, but Lance slides the ring onto Keith's finger without looking and it does fit perfectly. It feels strange, a weight he's unused to, but he thinks he's going to love it.

Keith doesn't know how long they trade kisses back and forth, neither willing to stop for more than greedy gasps of air. His head is almost dizzy, spinning with thoughts of Lance, with the knowledge that _Lance_ wants to marry him.

Beside them on the bed, Red and Blue begin to meow for attention in tandem. Keith pulls back, breathing unsteadily into Lance's mouth, and then bursts into laughter. He looks at his hand, letting the ring catch the early morning sun and flash across the room, and then raises an eyebrow at Lance.

"When I said we'd have to get married to make the questions stop, that wasn't me trying to hint or anything," he says teasingly. Lance huffs a little and leans back, reaching out to tickle under Blue's chin.

"I thought for sure you knew somehow. I was about to text Hunk and call him out for betraying our sacred trust."

"I had no idea," Keith admits. Red crawls in between them so he strokes a hand down her back, watching her settle against Lance's side. "When did you--"

"I've had the rings for a while," Lance says, flushing a little. The tips of his ears go pink, and Keith kind of wants to kiss them, but Lance continues talking. "And I figured since we were gonna be alone this Christmas, and it was gonna be our only break for a while, this was a good time to do it. So."

"Oh, so this was just convenient for you," Keith says, faux-indignant, reaching over to poke Lance in the side. Lance makes a face at him, grabbing his hand and intertwining their fingers. Keith is joking, but Lance has a serious expression on his face, brow furrowed and eyes intent on his own.

"I just -- we've been together for a long time. I don't want to be with anyone else for the rest of my life. I love you. I want to marry you. It felt right to ask now," he says firmly. He lifts Keith's hand and brushes his lips over Keith's knuckles -- Keith feels a buzzing start in his hand and spread down his arm to his body, warmth washing over his face. Lance smirks a little at him, and Keith scowls a little, embarrassed at his own reaction, embarrassed that Lance is well aware of how flustered he is.  "We should get up," Lance continues, running his thumb over Keith's hand absently. "We've got presents, and my mom will probably call later, and--"

Keith uses his hand to pull Lance close, tucking his head up under his chin and curling in next to his body. Red makes an annoyed sound and jumps out from between them, digging her claws into Keith's thigh as she goes, but Keith ignores her and focuses on the sound of Lance's heartbeat under his ear, on the way Lance automatically wraps his arm around Keith.

"We've got time for all of that," Keith says quietly. He wants to keep this moment for a little longer, wants to treasure the way the metal on his finger has already grown warm against his skin. Nothing has changed in the world except now he has a piece of jewelry, but everything is a little different now. He wonders if it's the same for Lance, if Lance feels the same quiet wonder and relief that they're together, that they found each other, that they love each other.

Lance doesn't say anything for a moment, and then pulls Keith closer, laughing against his hair. "You're right.  We've got plenty of time," he replies, and Keith closes his eyes and smiles.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you very much for reading, I hope you liked it! As always, I can be found on tumblr at [apvrrish](http://apvrrish.tumblr.com), and on twitter [@apvrrish](http://twitter.com/apvrrish).


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